Providence (19 page)

 “Luke, Kate!” Jake’s troubled
voice interrupted her thoughts. “What’s going on out there? We heard shots
fired.”

Kate and Luke exchanged a wary
look before Kate answered, “It seems we were ambushed. Luke thinks he may have
hit the man in the shoulder. Whoever it was is gone for now.”

“Ambushed? By who? What for?”
Jake’s face was a mask of concern. “And what in blazes were you two doing out
there anyway?”

“Calm down, Jake,” Luke spoke
calmly to the frightened man. “I think the predator has been taken care of. I
was showing Kate the remains of a cougar. At least that’s one worry off our
minds for now.” He took a deep breath before continuing, “Let’s go in for
breakfast and discuss this, shall we?”

“I think that’s the best thing,”
Kate agreed quickly, before Jake could protest further.

Nana appeared from the house,
wiping her hands on her apron as the trio approached. Kate saw her cornflower
blue eyes shadowed by dark rings and realized for the first time how old Nana
and Jake were growing. The thought sent waves of sorrow through her, how would
she manage when they were gone? They had been a source of strength for her
through so many years now. She smiled tenderly at Nana and placed an arm around
the small woman’s stooped shoulders. “We’re fine, Nana,” she whispered against
her ear,
and I love you
, she added silently as they went in to
breakfast.

 “Momma, Mr. Josey, what
happened? Did you shoot the wolf that ate our baby cow? Jon says most likely
you was out shooting. Did you kill him dead?” Jo bounded into the room full of
enthusiasm and questions, fiery curls glinting in the morning sun that streamed
through the open windows.

 “Not exactly, sweetheart,”
Luke replied catching her up in his arms, and carrying her to the table. “It
was a cougar, and he is dead now,” he continued, depositing her on the bench.

“A cougar?” Blue eyes, round with
delight, regarded him intently. “Did you shoot him?”

Luke gazed at the little girl
seeing a fair amount of hero worship shining from her innocent face. “Not, me,
honey. It would seem that your momma’s Comanche friend may have saved my life
last night, shooting that cat clean through the heart!”

“Really?” Jo gasped. “Tochoway
was here? He is so wonderful. Did I tell you he found my dolly? I was so very
worried, but then there he was, holding her for me, and he kept us dry from
that storm. He’s such a nice man, and now he saved your life, too!” Jo
chattered on, then suddenly grew very still, a perplexed look on her small
face. “If that happened last night, then what was all that shooting a little
while ago?” she asked.

The room became gravely quiet as
expectant eyes were turned on Luke and Kate. An uneasy look passed between the
two of them. “Let’s all sit down, shall we? I think we have some important
things to talk about.” Kate said, taking charge of the situation.

 “Luke is right about the
cougar, but that is far from our worries right now.” She related the events of
the morning quietly and succinctly, as her family listened. “So the question
now is who and why,” she concluded, casting a pointed look in Luke’s direction.

“Well, until we know more, or
find out what exactly is going on, I don’t think any one of us should go out
alone.” Luke began, “We need to always ride out with at least one other person
for now, and everyone needs to carry a weapon.”

Jake nodded his agreement. “I
have an old Winchester ‘73, and Jon has a ‘90 model. We both know how to use
them.”

“Good, what about you, Kate?”
Luke turned to her.

“Will taught me to shoot before
we ever moved here. I have his Colt 45 and Winchester ‘73. I’ll put the holster
back on my saddle. I think there are three boxes of .44-40 cartridges on the
shelf in the pantry.”

“Smart man, your husband.” Luke
said.

“Yes, he was.” Kate replied
evenly.

“Either Jon or I will escort Nana
and Jo wherever they go. Surely they’ll be all right here at the house, don’t
you think? Otherwise how are we ever going to get the cattle rounded up and
down here for the branding?” Jake asked.

 After a moment’s thought,
Luke said, “No, I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave them here alone. I
think it would be best if you stayed with them while Jon, Kate and I bring the
herds in. We’ll manage.”

As the plans were made, Kate
couldn’t stop the gnawing thoughts that Luke might not be what he seemed. Yet
at the same time, she couldn’t help but notice the tenderness and concern
evident as he made certain her family would be protected.

“We’ll take two days to bring the
herds in, the east one the first day, then the west herd.” Luke continued. “If
we get started Thursday morning, we should have them in and ready for
Saturday.”

“Well, I’ll be baking and such
like, so you best just stay out from under my feet, Jake Insley!” Nana stated.
“Can’t figure having a man underfoot at a time like this.” she muttered shaking
her head. “Best set you to digging the pit and laying the fire to roast that
steer. That’s what you’ll be good for,” she said with a firm nod of her head.
This set everyone to laughing, easing the tension, and bringing them together
once again.

***

Luke leaned against the rough wood
of the corral fence, watching the young colts and fillies of the remuda playing
and bucking in the late afternoon sunlight that filtered through the emerald
canopy above. Shadows danced and wavered over the gleaming coats as they ran at
one another in mock battle, kicking out, turning and racing the wind toward an
unseen goal. A three-year-old buckskin gelding caught his eye. He watched young
horse show exceptional athletic ability, solid muscles rippling beneath his
golden hide as he came to a sliding stop, rolled back in a perfect pivot and
took off again without hesitation.

This was the one he wanted. Kate
had offered him any horse from the herd in exchange for one month’s pay, and
this was the one he had decided on. Catching, gentling and riding him was
another thing, but Luke knew that he could do it. It was about time he got
started on it, and since they had agreed to stay at the ranch until the round
up Thursday morning, he had time to start now.

Glancing in the direction of the garden,
he could see Kate and Jo talking quietly together, pulling weeds. Jo was no
doubt exclaiming over the tender new shoots emerging green from the dark brown
earth, and planning what she would wear for the “branding party” as she called
it, while Kate worked earnestly in the heat, nodding her head now and then and
adding a quiet comment in between Jo’s monologues.

Luke wondered again why the two-
and three-year-old colts were left to run without being saddle broke. He knew
she planned to sell as many as she could to the men coming on Saturday, but he
also knew that she could get a far better price for them if they were broke to
ride. For such a sensible woman in most areas, this just didn’t make any sense.
Sighing and shaking his head, he went to the barn for a halter.

 A few minutes later he had
the buckskin colt haltered and was leading him to the small round working pen
near the corrals. The colt had obviously been worked with some, as he was quiet
and easy to catch and lead. He had soft liquid brown eyes, a small star just
off center on his forehead, and a pleasant expression about him. Luke turned
the horse into the round pen, following behind with a stiff lariat in his right
hand.

Removing the halter, he shooed the
colt away from him and sent him out to the fence. He watched closely from the
center of the pen, staying well back, but moving always toward the horse’s hip
just enough to keep him moving. Soon the buckskin broke into a slow easy trot
around the perimeter of the pen as Luke slapped the hard rope against his own
leg and made a slight kissing sound to the horse.

“What do you think you’re doing?”
Came a cold hard voice from behind him.

He turned to see Kate standing at
the corral gate, hands on her hips, amber eyes flashing in anger. Luke turned
his attention back to the colt, urging him forward into a faster trot. “I’m
working with my horse,” he replied calmly.

“Your horse?”

“You said to pick the one I
wanted. Well, there he is.” He nodded toward the trotting horse.

“I said you could pick any of the
older mares or geldings. Those colts aren’t broke.”

“He will be soon enough, if you
let me get back to work.”

“No.”

 The tone of her voice sent
a shiver through his spine. He stepped quietly toward the colt’s shoulder and
said, “Whoa, boy.” The horse stopped and stood looking warily at the man,
nostrils flaring, trying to fathom what would happen next.

Luke turned his attention away
from the colt and walked to the gate where Kate stood motionless. An indefinable
air about her made him pause. Anger flashed from her eyes, laced with fear, and
-
and what? He couldn’t quite grasp the emotion that
emanated from her, filling her very being. His own anger dissolved as he
studied her face. Reaching out, he ran his thumb down the side of her face,
smoothing back a stray lock of silky brown hair with work-hardened fingers. She
remained motionless, breathing rapidly, a slight quiver within her jaw, the
only sign that she felt his touch.

“Kate....” he began.

She turned and fled, lifting her
skirts as she ran. He watched as she disappeared into the house. Standing in
the hot sun, he focused his eyes on the door, willing her to return, to come to
him and lay her troubles at his feet. He wanted to be her comfort. When she did
not reappear, he sighed, and returned to the pen where the buckskin colt stood
patiently waiting for him.

***

Luke was breathing heavily as he
watched the colt’s sides heaving in imitation of his own from the exertion.
They had both worked hard over the last hour. Luke urging the young horse
around the pen at a trot, then a lope, always driving from the hip, as he
watched the colt intently for certain signs. When he saw the horse lower his
head or lick his lips, he would step toward the buckskin’s shoulder, cutting
into the animal’s path. The horse would turn on his haunches, away from the
man, and reverse his direction.

As man and beast worked together,
a rapport began to develop. Luke was able to control the flight with more
precision. A step toward the shoulder and back, elicited a turn, but this time
the turn was toward the man in a dance as old as time, movement following
movement, in a complex sinuous motion, predator and prey evolving into master
and willing servant. The horse began to pay closer attention to his driver.
Soon Luke had the colt stopping as he moved forward and said “whoa,” in a calm
steady voice.

Jon stood watching from near the
corral gate. Luke had seen him take up the vantage point some time earlier, but
the lad was quiet and respectful, and Luke let him watch, glad for the company.

Beast and man stood facing one
another, breathing heavily in the late afternoon heat. Luke took a step towards
the gate and the buckskin turned his head to follow the man with his eyes.

 “Good, boy!” Luke
encouraged. Another step to the gate, again the colt followed with his gaze.
One more step, this time the horse swung his head back to a more comfortable
position, his focus leaving the man. Luke kissed sharply slapping the riata
against his leg. The colt returned his gaze to the man. Again Luke stepped
toward the gate. This time the colt moved his front feet around and
repositioned himself to face the man. A broad grin broke across Luke’s tired
features, and he knew that he was gaining the horse’s trust and attention.

Relaxing, he motioned to Jon.
“What do you think?” Luke asked

“That’s pretty amazing. What
exactly are you trying to do with him?”

“Well, first, let him know that
I’m the boss, but not in the way a lot of wranglers will try to do it. Some, they
just get on and let ‘er rip, try to wear the bronc out of ‘em. I guess it works
for some folks.”

“Yeah, so how are you telling him
that you’re the boss?”

“I tell him when he can move,
where he can move, and when he can stop. If you’ve ever watched a herd of
horses
-
I mean really watched
-
then you’ll start to see that there’s always one ole
boss mare. She tells every single member of that herd just where they can eat,
when they’ll move, and so forth.”

“How?” Jon asked, puzzled.

“She does it with her body. Lay
her ears back, bare her teeth, come at the horse from the hip if they don’t
move fast enough. Plant a good kick on ‘em, if they dare to invade her area.”
Luke laughed.

 “Hmmm, now that you mention
it, I guess I have seen that kind of thing. Never thought much of it, except
maybe that was one mean hoss!” Jon exclaimed with a grin.

“Mean doesn’t have much to do
with it. It just shows that she’s the leader, the boss. So I figure if you want
to gain control of a horse, you’ve got to be just like that ole boss mare.”
Luke stopped for a minute, watching the buckskin colt, whose focus was
beginning to drift away. A loud kissing sound and a slap of the hard rope
against his leg, and the colt’s head snapped back to attention. “A few more
sessions like this, and I’ll be ready to put him under saddle.”